Guide to measuring nanotubes is published

GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 17 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have published detailed guidelines for measuring single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the guidelines constitute the current "best practices" for characterizing one of the most promising and heavily studied of the new generation of nanoscale materials.

Nanotubes are essentially cylinders of carbon atoms with a wall only one atom thick and a diameter of a couple of nanometers, but with lengths up to several million times their diameter.

Scientists say nanotubes' unique electronic, thermal, optical and mechanical properties make them ideal for a range of applications, including ultrastrong fibers for nanocomposite materials, circuit elements in molecular electronics, hydrogen storage components for fuel cells and light sources for flat-panel displays.

The new guidelines are expected to aid in more accurate, reliable and rapid measurement techniques to optimize production processes, creating more nanotubes with fewer impurities.

The techniques described in the guide have been proposed as the basis for international standards for nanotube characterization.

The guide is available as a pdf file at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/practiceguides/NIST%20SP960-19.pdf

The guide is also available as a HTML file at http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:8xmyDNvJ_xQJ:www.nist.gov/public_affairs/practiceguides/NIST%2520SP960-19.pdf+NIST+special+publication+960-19&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us&client=firefox-a